Welcome to NYrunners - Your bookmark IS STILL NY.MILESPLIT.COM! Meet the new team.

I remember pulling up to Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx in a school van as a sophomore at Archbishop Molloy High School for my first cross country meet. Dread is the adjective that comes to mind. As a team, we’d run the 2.5 mile course before, through the sandy cow path, the root-strewn rises and the bucking backhills as they spilled down toward the Henry Hudson Parkway.

You had music of some sort, the better to tune out the building anxiety. You fussed with your sweats, the smell of ointment in the fall air, as officials corralled a jittery pack of gaunt-looking boys. This was race day, and all that remained were a couple of stride-outs and the rhythmic clap of a starting gun.

Track and field touches our lives in many ways. As an athlete, it is transformative. The pain, the pressure, the exhiralating burst of competition. How does it change us? That’s hard to say. It teaches us to deal with discomfort, it is said. It teaches us discipline. Commitment.

For those of us who have fallen into its grip, track and field is joy. It seems to deepen with age. For some, it is a lifelong attachment. For others it may surface time and again. The bond with the sport is intense, whether short-lived or decades-long. It is something that is always there.

If you’re on this site, you’re probably a “track person”. During an interview months ago, a longtime track coach stopped me dead in my tracks: “Wait. Let me ask you something. Are you a track guy?”

If that resonates with you, you will like it here. We hope you’ll find something to feed your love of the sport, be it a story, photos, rankings, stats or meet information. Whatever gets you.

Track and field in New York state brings history. It is celebrated here, revered. We aim to filter that tradition through its athletes, its stories, its personalities and its numbers. We hope you’ll join us.

A note of Welcome from the MileSplit Network:

We had a positive, growing four years with ArmoryTrack.com covering New York. And we'd be remiss if we did not recognize the accomplishments and contributions of webmaster Tim Fulton and writer Chris Hunt. We'll miss you on a day-to-day basis, but look forward to opportunities to work together in the future.

But August 1st, our new team takes point in the Empire State.... and we are sure we have a good one.

Because it's such a big state, and because of the importance of maintaining the momentum we have there, we are providing Kyle Brazeil and Brian Towey with the opportunity to grow the audience together.

Kyle's primary responsibility will be the results and rankings... while Brian's main responsibility will be the coverage (editorial) side. We are sure there will be some crossover as needs demand, but if it's stats, it's Kyle, and if it's coverage, it's Brian.

Please welcome them to the MileSplit Network.

Kyle Brazeil, a resident of Lincolndale NY, began his running career as a sophomore at Somers High School. Showing an affinity for the quarter mile, his passion for the sport continued past his graduation in 2007. Upon graduating, Kyle returned the immediate winter to volunteer coach the Somers’ sprinters. Due to his success within the program, he was quickly promoted that spring to Assistant Coach: Sprints and Relays. Kyle continues in this position at Somers during college breaks, as well as adding coaching experience at both Ithaca High School and Homer High School.

Kyle has been immersed in the world of multimedia for many years. He briefly was involved in film production, assisting in the creation of a nature documentary for PBS, in addition to other short pieces. He is also familiar with Web 2.0 through his numerous courses as an English Education major at the State University of New York at Cortland. Kyle has also assisted in the maintenance of numerous blogs, both personal and professional.
Kyle currently finds himself privately training select athletes during his summers, as well as in High School coaching positions during the school year. He continues to coach with Somers High School, intending to make it a permanent position in 2012. (kbrazeil@milesplit.com) Have a meet date to confirm that is not on our calendar, email Kyle.

Brian Towey's earliest memories of track and field date back to the Sergei Bubka-era Millrose Games of the 1980's, meets he attended with his father. He ran at Archbishop Molloy High School in New York City. Towey worked at The Associated Press for five years in the sports department, and most recently, he has covered track and field for the New York Daily News. (btowey@milesplit.com)